Black Hat: 'App Genome' Exposes Smartphone Risks

Researchers from Lookout will present their findings thus far in study of freebie Android, iPhone apps.

Android smartphone applications typically don't have as much access to private information, such as location and contact lists, as many iPhone apps do, but they're more likely to contain potentially dangerous third-party code, according to a sneak peek at new research that will be revealed at Black Hat USA this week.

Researchers from Lookout, a smartphone security company, are releasing new data from their so-called "App Genome Project," which scans and maps smartphone apps to pinpoint threats and privacy risks. The project has mapped the behavior of 100,000 smartphone apps and has scanned about 300,000 so far.

Among the preliminary findings: Thirty-three percent of free iPhone apps have the ability to see the smartphone user's physical location, while 29 percent of free Android apps can do the same. And 14 percent of free iPhone apps can access a user's contact list, while 8 percent of free Android apps can do so.

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